Western Union is at the center of a preliminary antitrust inquiry as European Union regulators examine allegations of collusion to drive rival money-transfer operators out of the multibillion-dollar market.

The EU is probing whether exclusivity contracts that Douglas County-based Western Union signs with retail outlets breach competition rules, according to two people familiar with questionnaires sent in recent weeks who asked not to be named because the process is private.

The European Commission also is examining claims that banks agreed to close accounts of some smaller money-transfer providers, citing concerns that money they deposited might be linked to drug-trafficking or terrorism, one of the people said.

Without an account in Europe, smaller remittance firms can’t offer their services as the money transits through the banking system.

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